Tehama County budget adjustments included extra help for marijuana control

Red Bluff >> It's not often a mid-year budget adjustment is met with enthusiastic applause, but such was the case at Tuesday's Tehama County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Backed by the vocal and physical support of the Tehama County Cattlmen's Association and the Rancho Tehama Reserve Advisory Committee the board authorized budget adjustments to fund two new positions to help regulate marijuana grows.

"The marijuana cultivation brings with it a lawlessness that is very harsh on cattlemen."

The new positions, a full time sheriff's deputy and a code enforcement officer, were recommended by the Marijuana Ad Hoc Committee to help the county combat code violations related to medicinal marijuana grows as well as crime from illegal operations.

Larry Galper, a rancher who served on the ad hoc committee, said the point of the additional law enforcement was to regain control over the crime associated with illicit marijuana grows in the county, especially the increase of activity in rural areas.

Galper said the board should continue exploring ways to provide more funding to bring in more personnel.

That point was echoed by Supervisor Dennis Garton, who wondered aloud whether the county should be hiring even more deputies.

Garton urged department heads to ask if they saw a desire for more help in combatting the problem.

Hencratt said the addition of a deputy position will allow one deputy to work nearly full time on the issue. That deputy would be supported by the Tehama Interagency Drug Enforcement task force and existing deputies.

The new positions will work with a recently hired legal secretary, Chief Administrator Bill Goodwin said.

Goodwin said the legal secretary should be able to improve efficiency with code enforcements.

"It's a start not an end all," Goodwin said.

In July 2013 the Board of Supervisors adopted an even more stringent marijuana cultivation ordinance than it had originally put in place in 2010.

However the timing of the new ordinance came at the end of the grow season, leaving 2014 to be the first year the county anticipated seeing its benefits.

With planting season already underway, Supervisor Burt Bundy said he wanted to see an early effort at eradication of illicit grows.

Bundy said if the grows continue on during the season they will have an impact on the local water supply, specifically citing a situation with Mill Creek last year.

The cost of the enforcement officer, about $61,840 yearly, will be shared by the sheriff, planning and environmental health departments. An additional sheriff's deputy will cost the county around $68,474 per year plus an additional $36,000 for a vehicle.